Perceptual organization of line configurations: Is visual awareness necessary?

Dina Devyatko; Shahar Sabary; Ruth Kimchi

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.02.005

Perceptual organization of line configurations: Is visual awareness necessary?

Dina Devyatko, Shahar Sabary, Ruth Kimchi

Department of Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We examined whether configuring, which determines the appearance of grouped elements as a global shape, requires visual awareness, using a priming paradigm and two invisibility-inducing methods, CFS and sandwich masking. The primes were organized into configurations based on closure, collinearity, and symmetry (collinear primes), or on closure and symmetry (noncollinear primes). The prime-target congruency could be in configuration or in elements. During CFS, no significant response-priming was observed for invisible primes. When masking induced invisibility, a significant configuration response-priming was found for collinear and noncollinear primes, visible and invisible, with larger magnitude for the former. An element response-priming of equal magnitude was evident for visible and invisible noncollinear primes. Our results suggest that configuring can be accomplished in the absence of visual awareness when stimuli are rendered invisible by sandwich masking, but it benefits from visual awareness. Our results also suggest sensitivity to the available grouping cues in unconscious processing.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	101-115
Number of pages	15
Journal	Consciousness and Cognition
Volume	70
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2019.02.005
State	Published - Apr 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (grant number 1473/15 ) to Ruth Kimchi. Facilities for conducting the research were provided by the Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making and by the Max Wertheimer Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and Human Performance, University of Haifa . We thank Mor Leder and Alisa Kanterman for help in running the experiments.

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (grant number 1473/15) to Ruth Kimchi. Facilities for conducting the research were provided by the Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making and by the Max Wertheimer Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and Human Performance, University of Haifa. We thank Mor Leder and Alisa Kanterman for help in running the experiments.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

CFS
Configuring
Perceptual organization
Visual awareness
Visual masking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Developmental and Educational Psychology

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10.1016/j.concog.2019.02.005

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title = "Perceptual organization of line configurations: Is visual awareness necessary?",

abstract = "We examined whether configuring, which determines the appearance of grouped elements as a global shape, requires visual awareness, using a priming paradigm and two invisibility-inducing methods, CFS and sandwich masking. The primes were organized into configurations based on closure, collinearity, and symmetry (collinear primes), or on closure and symmetry (noncollinear primes). The prime-target congruency could be in configuration or in elements. During CFS, no significant response-priming was observed for invisible primes. When masking induced invisibility, a significant configuration response-priming was found for collinear and noncollinear primes, visible and invisible, with larger magnitude for the former. An element response-priming of equal magnitude was evident for visible and invisible noncollinear primes. Our results suggest that configuring can be accomplished in the absence of visual awareness when stimuli are rendered invisible by sandwich masking, but it benefits from visual awareness. Our results also suggest sensitivity to the available grouping cues in unconscious processing.",

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author = "Dina Devyatko and Shahar Sabary and Ruth Kimchi",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (grant number 1473/15 ) to Ruth Kimchi. Facilities for conducting the research were provided by the Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making and by the Max Wertheimer Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and Human Performance, University of Haifa . We thank Mor Leder and Alisa Kanterman for help in running the experiments. Funding Information: This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) (grant number 1473/15) to Ruth Kimchi. Facilities for conducting the research were provided by the Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making and by the Max Wertheimer Minerva Center for Cognitive Processes and Human Performance, University of Haifa. We thank Mor Leder and Alisa Kanterman for help in running the experiments. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Inc.",

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Perceptual organization of line configurations: Is visual awareness necessary?

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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